Internationally, many companies choose stars or athletes to represent them as Brand Ambassadors. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods or Ellen DeGeneres were and are representatives of international brands.

If we look at this fact in more detail, celebrities are not the only options in terms of ambassadors that your company should focus on. Look closer to you, right at the desk next to you! Your colleagues are the best ambassadors your company can have.

Companies invest millions of dollars to prepare them to become Brand Ambassadors. To start this process right, your colleagues need to:
• Know what the company’s mission is – what the company wants and how it differentiates itself from the competition;
• Understand the “Brand Promise” and be able to explain the most important elements of the brand identity;
• To implement the “Brand Promise” of the company.

The involvement of Employee Engagement strategies in the creation of Brand Ambassadors is essential. Scarlett Surveys International defines Employee Engagement as “a measure of employees’ emotional attachment to their job, colleagues or company. This, whether negative or positive, influences their desire to learn more and perform.”

It is well known that Employee Engagement is critical for an organization , and the benefits exist on both sides. 2015 comes with a wave of challenges for the strategies of the HR department in terms of its development.

However, in order to turn them into Brand Ambassadors, we come with some tips:

1. Prioritize Brand Awareness
A study conducted by Gallup on a sample of 3,000 employees, brought to light a shocking truth: only 41% of employees agree with the following statement: “I know the purpose of the organization and what makes us different from the competition.” The conclusion of the study is that more than half of the employees are not aware of the power of the company’s brand. In this case, leadership of the “learning by doing” type is the most appropriate, but do not leave aside other types of activities to increase the company’s brand awareness: event or teambuilding activities that bring forward this component.

2. Stories with branding
The stories told by employees about the company’s management, good practices and the company’s impact on their lives are precious and turn them into Brand Ambassadors. From family, to friends or people met on trips, employees tell their story and that of your company.
In a company where Brand Awareness is properly achieved, even the employees’ families become Brand Ambassadors (through the alliance) :D.

3. Company culture
In order for employees to be proud Brand Ambassadors, they also need the right context, and in this case, the context is given by the company’s organizational culture. The company must consider all the details of creating and maintaining this culture: from small things to big things, from the company’s Social Media activity, to events specially created to promote this culture. The employees who deliver the “Brand Promise” of the company must be recognized for this, and from here to being even more motivated to continue doing it, the road is simple.

In conclusion, the employee brand, as well as the actions necessary to build and manage it, are powerful tools that can be used to add value to the company through the HR department.